Splish Splash

18 Months! 

A year and a half old!

Finally some warm weather!! We love it because that means we can be outside more. I've been trying to get creative with keeping cool and entertaining a toddler. She really likes when I bring out the big bowl of soapy water and have various toys in it to find...or just to dump out. Whatever the case, she's surprising entertained for some time and she wants "more" after she dumps it out. We have a turtle pool that was left here when we moved in, which comes in handy. She loves getting in and out of it and bringing her dolly in it for a swim. We also have a Hello Kitty sprinkler that she wasn't too sure of at first, but then when she realized it really cooled her off, she liked it. Zoie loves all the water fun!

Playing in her bowl

"Ta-da"

Washing her baby

 

Hello Kitty sprinkler

It was Father's Day! Adisyn made a cute poster at school so we brought it to Daddy at work after I picked it up. Daddy loved the surprise!

Mark did manage to get out a little early on Father's Day so we can have dinner together. Adisyn loves it when Daddy comes home!

Daddy's home!

Daddy came home for lunch too!

I know I say it every month, but Adisyn is learning more and more words. She likes to repeat more words too. With that, she is able to follow directions better too! She loves helping mommy and daddy out by throwing things away, putting things in the dishwasher or dryer, sweeping, wiping up a mess and cleaning up her toys (most of the time). Her teacher at school said that she has really come out of her shell this month and just talks all the time! She has some stranger anxiety, which her pediatrician warned us was coming, in that when someone approaches her and tries to talk to her, she appears very shy. But, if she is the one initiating the conversation than she's fine with it, especially when she warms up to them a little. I'm glad she's talking more at school because she is so talkative at home! Her teacher also told me that she says "please" and "thank you" all the time and so clearly. One day at school one of the teachers brought in a turtle and all the kids were fascinated by it. Her teacher told me that as the turtle was leaving, Adisyn make sure she said "bye-bye" to it. She also likes to talk to her baby and her dolly (or whatever other character she has at the time) has conversations with other toys. It's so cute to hear her talking with whatever words come to mind or just sounds, that make it seem like a real conversation. She has actually said 3 word sentences (not consistently) but she can say things like "Dada, my shoes" and more commonly 2 word sentences such as "my shoes", "more please", "2 books", "I get", etc. It seems like she puts more together each day!

She loves her "baby"!

I know I'm biased, but I really think she's a very sweet girl! One Sunday we were going to pick her up in Sunday School and we peeked in before going in, and we saw her walking over to a little boy. When we walked in we noticed that she was handing him Cheerios because she was concerned that he was crying. I then realized this little boy is from her class at school and it was his first time in Sunday School. We all couldn't believe how sweet she was to try to help him (especially since she usually protects her Cheerios so much). Now, I do admit, the "terrible two's" are beginning to kick in, but that's just part of her normal development. She's learning that she can be her own person and is learning how to express herself. In turn, she's learning what the rules are.

I don't know how I forgot it last month, but Adisyn FINALLY got 2 more teeth!! Now she has 4 teeth total, 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom. This makes smiling that much more cute (even though I didn't know it could get any cuter) and makes chewing food easier. She also has more hair on the top of her head so I can actually put a Velcro bow on the top of her head, not just the crown of her head. Pigtails look cute too!

Getting ready for church - you can see how her bows now fit!

She loves to dance and will dance at home or in the car. Her favorite songs are "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Wheels on The Bus", "Happy and You Know It" and "Rise and Shine And Give God Your Glory" because she gets really excited and sings, as well as dances along with them. She also likes to do "Ring Around the Rosy" where she holds onto your hands, we go around in a circle, then fall to the ground when "we all fall down". Her favorite books are "Toes, Ears and Nose" because she can flip open the body parts to reveal them. She's very good at the different body parts now! She also likes other flip up or slide books, they seem to be her favorite. She loves to point out the kitties, ducks, and horses as well as making the sounds they make.

We all went over Grandma and Grandpa's in North Carolina to meet Aunt Beverly (Grandma's sister), who was visiting from Colorado. Adisyn also got to see cousin Sarah, who she just loves to play with! She kept wanting Sarah to pick her up and they played with her dolls together. It was a fun day!

Adisyn & Sarah

Later in the month we went to Hollywild: http://www.hollywild.com/ which is not too far from our house. We've been there with Adisyn a few times, but this time she was able to enjoy it much more, now that she's older. A lot of the animals run free and there's many animals that she can pet too. Around Christmas time then have a drive through safari where you can also stop to see Santa.

She loved the goats, but wasn't too sure about these big ones that jumped up onto the fence!

Adisyn looking at the real snake!

She loved walking around looking at all the animals!

 

 

The 4th of July was very rainy, in fact the whole week was very wet. Mark had to work that day, but I had a nice day off with Adisyn. She wore an outfit that Grandma and Grandpa bought for her and she loved the skirt! We were afraid that the fireworks would wake Adisyn up, because in South Carolina everything is legal, so it can get pretty loud in our neighborhood. But, she slept through it all! The next day everyone was shooting off more fireworks, so after Adisyn went to bed we just enjoyed the view from our back yard. There was any type of firework imaginable coming from neighbors yards in every direction!

Happy to see Daddy come home for lunch!

We took a walk around the Children's Garden at Falls Park in Greenville, SC http://www.greenvillesc.gov/parksrec/ChildrensGarden.aspx to attempt to take her 18 month pictures, but she wasn't in the mood. She loves looking at all the flowers and walking around finding ducks, but when it came time to pull the camera out...she wouldn't look at it. Oh well...better luck next time. We also went to the Greenville Zoo http://www.greenvillezoo.com/ that day, which we visit often. The zoo is connected to Falls Park, so we love to go there!

 

Mommy and Adisyn walking at the Children's Garden



This was our first attempt at her 18 month picture at the Children's Garden

 

I love the hot weather and so happy summer is finally here! We are able to do so much more outside and Adisyn is really getting use to the pool, she loves it! I can't wait to see what other fun things we'll be doing this summer!

Mmmm Good!

17 Months!

 

Adisyn LOVES food! Well, at least some days she does and when she does it's the greatest thing ever! As she eats, if it's something that she is really enjoying, she will say "mmmmm" after every bite. She seems to be eating better, when it's something she wants to eat, otherwise, if she's not in the mood she's "all done". She loves her breakfast and it seems to never get old - she eats yogurt with some type of fruit, or just plain with baby oatmeal mixed in. Lunch and dinner can be a surprise concoction on whatever we have around. She likes chicken and she tried quinoa for the first time, just to try something different for all of us.

We took a trip to the local pond to feed some ducks. Adisyn's favorite animals are "kitties" and ducks. She loves to quack like a duck and flop her arms like wings. She gets so excited every time she sees either one. So, we thought she'd really like to actually feed them:

 

 

 

 

Adisyn really likes to color with crayons now and she looks forward to her bed time books. Before bed we pick 2 books to read and she sits patiently when we read them before she goes "ni-night". She loves her Hello Kitty pajamas and will pick them out to wear to bed and will point out all the kitties on them. She also says "I don't know" and motions her hands for the "I don't know" sign when you ask her a question she doesn't know the answer to. She is tall enough now to climb onto the couch herself (and finally reached the 20 pound mark). She says "good bye" to things when we tell her we have to go or if she has to put something away. She can count to 3 and knows (and can say) the colors purple (and less consistently knows blue and red). She will laugh when she sees a picture of someone laughing or if you ask her to laugh. She also will repeat words you say more frequently. It's really funny the things she comes up with!

We had a great Mother's Day! Mark was off that day so we had a great day together. I really wanted to plant a tree because we don't have much shade in the back yard, so we planted a Dogwood tree. We also went to McCallisters to eat lunch. It was a perfect day!


Mother's Day



Mother's Day family picture



We all went on a vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina over Memorial Day week (including Zoie). We have never been to the area before, so we thought it would be something new! Surprisingly it took a long time to go to South Carolina to North Carolina (about 8 hours). Some of the drive time was spent driving up the beach and to the rental house which was in a 4-wheel drive section. The house was very secluded and very relaxing. We stayed just north of the city of Corolla and wild horses roam free on the island.

Adisyn & Zoie watching the horses from our porch

 

Going for a walk
 

Horses blocking our only way out

Out in the jeep on the roads looking for horses

 

 

While there we spent time on the beach, walking around the "neighborhood" which was all sand dunes and deep, soft sandy roads, hiking on some local trails and just relaxing. This is a video of Adisyn talking to herself on one of our walks:

 

Adisyn loved playing in the sand with daddy:

 

 

We spent one day on Roanoke Island, which is here the infamous Roanoke Colony settled. We decided to go to "The Island Farm" http://www.theislandfarm.com/ which is an old settlement from 1847. The employees re-enact the time period to see what their family life was like during that time. Adisyn loved chasing the chickens and just being able to roam free around the area and into all the buildings. We also went on a Ox drawn carriage around the area.



Playing an old horseshoe game on the farm

She loved the rope horseshoes

Family picture on the back porch of the house

She loved the chickens!

She loved running around the farm

One of the hiking trails we went on was called "Estuarine Nature Walk" and it was a fun hike in the woods then opens up to a nature reserve http://www.nccoastalreserve.net/About-The-Reserve/National-Reserve-Sites/Currituck-Banks/57.aspx



Walking on part of the Estuarine Trail

Looking over the edge of the deck at the end of one of the trails

The end of the nature trail


We also went walking around the town of Duck, North Carolina: http://www.townofduck.com/ourtownpark/. It was also a beautiful trail that went over the water and past some local shops. Adisyn loved pointing out all the birds that we saw.


Zoie, Daddy and Adisyn walking on the boardwalk

There are apparently a few lighthouses on the island, so we went to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse: http://www.currituckbeachlight.com/. There are 214 steps and Adisyn went with me (in her carrier) as daddy waited below so he could get a picture of us. It was a pretty good workout with a 20 pound toddler attached to you! She spotted daddy from below when we were up there and he snapped a picture!

Currituck Beach Lighthouse, Corolla NC

Me & Adisyn at the top (in yellow)


On the way home we made a quick stop at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina:  http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/aviation/wbr.htm. A lot of the exhibit is outside so Adisyn had fun running around the grounds. It was a really nice tribute on the actual land that the first flight took place.


Me & Adisyn at the memorial. You can see on the ground the metal rail the brothers used to gain momentum for their plane and on the hill in the background the Wright Brothers monument

I hope you enjoy all the pictures and videos we really love recording Adisyn as she grows and the places we visit. We hope that these will be something she can look back on when she's older to see what a character she is!

Miss Independent

16 Months!

April has been cooler than I expected. We had a couple of warm spells so I was thinking Spring was finally here, but then it got cold again. Even with it being a little cool, after I pick Adisyn up from school we go outside to play before dinner. She really loves playing outside, being able to walk freely around and exploring. She is inquisitive about the flowers, dirt, acorns, birds and playing with her outdoor toys. She even throws the ball to me, then I throw it to her to chase it. She'll even try to throw the ball to Zoie! This past month, Auntie Jeannie sent Adisyn a talking picnic basket in the mail. She loved it! It also works perfect in her playhouse. She will sit and talk to it when she's playing with it, as it says things like "hello" and "goodbye".


Thank you Auntie - I love my picnic basket in my playhouse...

 

and I love to have a picnic in the yard too!



Playing outside after school

Speaking of playing, Adisyn has began to "pretend play" meaning that if she has two things in her hand, she pretends they are talking or kissing each other. She also has really claimed her baby. She is so excited when she sees her baby when she gets in the car after school but she hates to leave it when she goes to school. She is really becoming attached to her baby and she'll carry it around all day, feed it and when she's taking a bath, she'll bathe it too. It amazes me how she knew instinctively how to care for it.

Adiysn is being coming more and more independent. She wants to do more things herself, such as eating, rather than mommy and daddy doing it for her. She is getting very good at saying "thank you" and "please" when she wants something. Unfortunately this month she has gotten more particular with the food she's eating. I think this is just a phase that she's going through to exert her independence, so hopefully it won't last too long. Her new favorite foods (this month) are baked beans and shredded cheese. Not that these are the most nutritious foods for her, but at least she eats it! For some reason her favorite foods, such as bananas, are just fun to squish in her hand now! Here's some videos I wanted to share:

Eating with a spoon & "all done"

She is getting more and more communicative and I love it! She tries to repeat words that I say and she knows so many objects that I wasn't even aware of! She tries to say her name, which sounds more like "Aaaadi", which is really cute. She also tells us when she has to "poop" and can point out poop in the backyard when she sees it (I guess it's better than the alternative). Her teachers at school tell me that she's very tentative to the other children. They say that she takes a little to warm up in the morning, but once she does she walks around like she owns the place (in a good, cute way they said), not intimidated by any of the other children (some of who are much bigger than her, even though they're one as well). They said that she's very sweet to everyone and loves to cuddle. They all think it's hilarious that she eats a lot and she makes a huge mess! It's comforting knowing how she acts when we're not around. I realize some of her personality traits will be phases of her development, but some things, such as being sweet, are a just her!

 

"Happy and You know It"

 

 

 

We went to the Greenville Zoo http://www.greenvillezoo.com/for the first time this season and Adisyn is more excited about seeing all of the animals. She really enjoys watching all the animals, especially the monkeys, giraffes, birds, chicken and goats.

Watching the monkeys with Mommy

Daddy and Adisyn 4/2013



 

Mommy & Adisyn on the bear 6/2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also made our first trip of the season to Hatcher Gardens http://hatchergarden.org/. She loved smelling all the different flowers and watching the squirls run everywhere!





Smelling flowers 5/2013



3 Months Old pictures (4/2012) in front of same flowers!

Bye bye!

I also wanted to share some of the more recent hair bows and wall hanging that I made

Wall design we made

Some hair bows and flowers I made





Grandma made Adisyn a monkey and cat and I put them on a clip for her hair